EW Sessions: Diener on delivering results

Yes, I'm happy to do that. I think in Germany and across Europe we had a turning point for the trade show industry. The pandemic situation is improving rapidly. The proportion of the population being vaccinated is going up by the day. So the authorities here in Germany would allow us to do trade shows again as of today. While the challenge is now to mobilize the related industries and give them really enough confidence that the trade shows in late summer or fall will be providing the powerful platform they are looking for in terms of attendance.

Yes, we have B2C shows such as the Caravan Salon, the world's largest for caravanning. We have A+A still up before the end of this year, which is a show for work safety. We have REHACARE coming up, which is a show for rehabilitation and care for senior citizens and handicapped people. And of course then we have MEDICA towards the end of the year, our medical equipment show. So it's very different industries. And some of these shows have a reach across Europe, others heavily depend on overseas attendance as well. And when it comes to travel opportunities for overseas attendees, we simply still don't know yet to which extent that will be possible in the second half of this year.

Well, not quite completely back to the traditional face-to-face. But of course we were really very pleased to see that the large proportion of the exhibiting industry is looking forward to come back to physical trade shows rather than attending virtual events. However, the learning we have done since the first virtual trade show in late summer last year is massive. We know what works, we know what does not work so well. We also learned that the exhibitors believe that the ROI for them at the virtual platform is a far cry away from what they can expect from a physical trade show. So there's a lot of learnings. But we definitely know the way forward. And you know, Paul, it very much depends on the kind of industry you are serving with your trade show. But there will be more and more digital enrichment for all physical trade shows. We will have trade shows which will take place in a hybrid format. We will have trade shows where we have a lot of digital support throughout the year and between the two physical trade shows. So it's very much about connecting the community we are serving. It's very much about offering a platform of know-how transfer and education. It's to a lesser degree than we expected at the beginning when we started virtual platforms about presenting services or products in a virtual way. That can work as well, but when you want to really do it nicely, say in an augmented way, it's very expensive and it's actually by no means cheaper than the average cost for the participation in the physical trade show. And the leads you get so far through a virtual platform are just not comparable to the number of leads you can get at the physical trade show.

Yeah, you wouldn't be surprised, of course, it's Far East. Not because I lived in Asia for 22 years, but really based on a strong belief that, to start with, entrepreneurs in Asia are very agile. They are very good at adjusting to a situation as it occurs. And they are just more dynamics, more than we have here in good old Europe or even in the US. And this is a very good backdrop for the trade show business because that means many industries in Asia are recovering faster. Some of them have already fully recovered after the pandemic. And of course, you have all the trade show markets in Asia are also not as saturated and as established as they are in the old world. Even so in China you have now and in Japan certainly as well a lot of large trade shows which are very established, there's still a lot of movements in the market and it's much easier to find a gap to get in or to launch a new topic or a new trade show anywhere. So to sum this up, I think the upside potential in Asia for the trade show business is definitely much higher than anywhere else in the world.

Uh, yes, whatever flies. I mean, talking about our business in North America, we have an affiliation in Chicago, really good people. They do run some shows in the US. They also do run a show in Bogotá, Colombia. And now, as you just mentioned, they have decided to join forces with the local organizer for some B2C events in Detroit and at other places. So yes, we would never rule out to not enter the B2C trade show market. While it is important to remember that the rules of the game are very different in the B2C trade show market. You need to do very different ways of advertising, and the setup for a B2C show is very different. So one has to understand this. But in this case you mentioned, in this venture we work with people which are very experienced in the B2C trade show market, and we feel with our resources and our expertise we can add value to this venture. And that is definitely a case where I would say, why not, let's do this. Because we are looking to enlarge our scale in North America. Our operation could do more, and it's financially all will be much more viable once we can get more scale.

Yes, yes it is. Well, firstly, I wouldn't have wanted to miss any of my endeavors. And by the way, during my last minute Las Vegas time I was also engaged in Marina Bay in Singapore, not just Macau. So I think I was really gifted to obtain a lot of knowledge and get a lot of experience in different businesses with very different leadership styles, very different financial background. And I think all together, this knowledge which I obtained there helps me as well to excel Messe Düsseldorf to the next level. Of course, the corporate culture of a company like Messe Düsseldorf is again very different. In fact, when I started here two and a half years ago, many people asked me if this is a culture shock for me being back here in Germany working for a German corporation. And I very often would joke and say that you've got to ask the people which are working for me, don't ask me, because it might be more shocking for them rather than it is for me. But to be serious, I figured okay, I'm a German, I'm a German citizen, but I was astonished of myself how easy I found it to get started here and to adjust. And I don't think it's because I'm a holder of a German passport and I'm not working in Germany. I think it is because I learned during my career to adjust again and again and to prove myself again. Because I mean, Sheldon in my Las Vegas time, he couldn't care less what I learned in Shanghai during my time with Nick or whom I know there. He said, 'Listen, this is your job, just deliver. I don't care what you have done before.' And so I think I learned to adjust to different environments in a way and that helped me to make it fairly easy here in Germany. Of course, what helped me when you come to the very particular shareholder background of a German Messe, what helped me is that I was always staying in touch somehow, even though I lived overseas, with German Messes. I knew how they were doing and how they were developing while I was overseas for more than two decades. And I've also felt there is a level of familiarization because I knew many of the senior executives from here at Messe Düsseldorf and from other Messes. But it's very, very different. But I also wanted to take this opportunity to say, Paul, I always used to giggle in particular during my UBM time when Anglo-Saxon trade show professionals refer to the German Messes as like being one gang. But what I definitely learned again, what I figured again once I arrived here, it feels more like in the back of a room rather than on a rugby field playing with the team. They are all looking at each other and they don't give anything to each other. And that is as a senior manager, the senior management, they see the Germans, yes we know each other, we talk from time to time with each other, but I don't feel in any way closer to another Messe than I do with any other organizer in the UK or France. So there is no ganging up. There is no like meetings over breakfast where you decide how to share the market or something like that. That might have been the case before my time 30 years ago but it's definitely no longer there.

Oh, thank you for your time, for the invitation. And hope to see you soon again here in Düsseldorf, probably at the boat show.